Much has changed in the UK education system in recent years. School assessment andfinal-exam systems have been overhauled, and there is increasing pressure on families to make the right school choices for future university admission. Rebecca Marriage explores the value of engaging a consultant to help navigate the complex and evolving education landscape and to ensure that families understand the implications of their choice of school.

The UK’s education system is in a period of significant reform. Secondary-school qualifications are experiencing a massive overhaul, primary-school assessments are undergoing some of the biggest changes in years, and the government’s school performance tables are changing the criteria by which the quality of schools is judged.

Coupled with the adapted university admissions procedures in response to exam reform and the increasing number of high-achieving applicants to university, these reforms mean that globally mobile families considering the future implications of their education choices have their work cut out for them.

Changes to primary-school assessment

This year has seen the first cohort of primary-school children to sit the new standard assessment tests (SATs), which have been redesigned to be more challenging and, the UK government claims, will result, at the end of primary school, in a ‘precise score’ by which families can judge how well a school is performing.